Daily Digest: Have You No Shame, Sir?

I mean, how else does someone spend so much time brewing Modern decks built around fourteenth-pick draft commons that only serve to annoy you when you accidentally roll over one in your chair? He must be so constantly annoyed with them that his only recourse was to put them in decks.

For those in need of a refresher, Zac Elsik is the creator of Lantern Control, notably winningGrandPrixOklahomaCity 2015 with his creation that has no doubt generated more eye rolls from opponents than any other in recent memory. If you had told me five years ago that someone would build a successful Modern deck with Ghoulcaller's Bell, I would've told you you were crazy. And I would've been right.

Not one to rest on his laurels, Zac is back with a deck that has 21 cards you wouldn't register in a 40-card format, much less one where you can kill people on turn 3. Fortunately, this monstrosity can kill as early as turn 2. Cast a Serum Visions into a Puresteel Paladin or Sram, Senior Edificer and you can start chaining embarrassing zero-mana Equipment spells together until you find a Mox Opal and a Retract to do it all over again. Eventually you draw enough Mox Opals to cast a lethal Grapeshot…that is, if your opponent hasn't signed the match slip in shame already.

This deck is not for the faint of heart. You're going to have opening hands that are complete nonsense and you need to mulligan aggressively and hope for the best. There's minimal protection and no back-up plan besides suiting up a 2/2 with some Bone Saws and going aggro, not the most reliable plan in a format of Tarmogoyf and Lightning Bolt. But you're going to win plenty of games where your opponent taps out on turn 2 or 3, thinking they are safe, or give in to the fear and give you time to set up a kill with Swan Song backup. Playing against a deck this threatening is no easy task, so use that to your advantage.

Now, granted, this is not an altogether new idea from Zac and many players saw the potential that Sram, Senior Edificer had in the archetype, but is there anyone more likely to jump into this deck and tune it to meet its potential? I think not.

About Ross Merriam

Ross Merriam has been a fixture on the SCG Tour since 2012 and is one of its most decorated players with over twenty top 8s. He currently serves as the beardliest member of Team BCW and a content creator for StarCityGames.com, focusing on the Modern format as well as Magic fundamentals and theory designed to help you elevate your game.